susan phillips is with the san francisco health department. she says new york has had 16 cases of menengococal disease. the cases involve men in areas of brooklyn who are have had intimate contact with other men. >> it's due to a bacterium and it is passed by a very close personal contacts. secretions of any kind including saliva. >> reporter: gay men traveling to new york should get a vaccine if they have planning to have sex with men there. >> men who met partners online, at parties. >> awareness is good but i don't think they should be scaring people to travel. >> reporter: travelers should know they won't pick up the disease by simply sitting next to someone. >> this is definitely not airborne. not a concern of someone sitting next to someone on an airplane. it really requires a close contact with a secretion. >> there's no increase here. ken and julie there's also no indication to the nationwide outbreak the related to the lab. >>> more details on bacterial meningitis. the illness can cause serious complications including brain damage, he